Ex-police officer's death in jail deemed 'non-criminal'

The death of a former Winnipeg police officer who died at Headingley Correctional Institution in February, 2013 has been deemed 'non-criminal in nature,' according to the RCMP.

The Mounties were asked to investigate the death of Richard Dow, who was serving a 16-month jail term for sexual assault. He was found dead in his cell on Feb. 19, 2013.

An RCMP spokeswoman said officers from the Headingley detachment were called to the provincial jail at about 10:30 a.m. in connection to the death of a male inmate. Winnipeg police were not involved in the investigation.

Dow, 58, was sentenced in September 2012 to 16 months in jail after being convicted of sexually assaulting 11 young women whom he had persuaded to model for his off-duty photography business.

Dow was a Winnipeg police officer for 19 years. He was placed on administrative leave from the police service following his arrest in 2006. He later retired.

The crimes he was convicted of took place between 2001 and 2005 and involved aspiring models in their late teens and early 20s. They had agreed to pose for photos but were then groped and fondled during the photo shoots.